As expected, Vijay Bahuguna easily won the state assembly bye-election from Sitarganj in a landslide, entering the Vidhan Sabha with the largest margin since Uttarakhand’s formation. As Sitarganj was originally occupied by BJP legislator Kiran Mandal whom the Congress had successfully lurred away on promises…

It has been an odd practice, but Uttarakhand has rarely had a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand. While Harish Rawat was elected to the upper house in 2002, and Bhagat Singh Koshiyari is currently still serving a term (incidentally, both were sent to the Rajya…

Harish Rawat is in a situation that recalls the saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Despite being one of the most loyal and faithful Congress leaders of any state (or as Rawat himself put it, a “child bride”…

New Delhi, March 13: The Congress culture of thrusting chief ministers on states against the wishes of legislators has been openly challenged for the first time in the tiny hill state of Uttarakhand, where the fractured mandate had made government formation a tricky exercise. Harish…

Caste grievances come to the fore NEW DELHI: Congress’s victory in Uttarakhand soured on Tuesday with a full blown revolt threatening the brand new government of Vijay Bahuguna. Bahuguna’s hasty swearing in as chief minister was marred by the absence of 24 party MLAs. Just…

The Congress has finally pulled the trigger and selected the Tehri Garhwal MP Vijay Bahuguna as the next chief minister. Given that fellow MP Harish Rawat and State Congress President Yashpal Arya have long been seen as the top contenders, this is a surprising development…

With every factional leader in the Congress in Uttarakhand seeking to be the next Chief MinisterCongress high command has been put into disarray and sparked off a debate between party cadres and the general masses here about whether or not the State was fit to…

THE ruling BJP finds itself in a piquant situation following the results of the Assembly elections. The party under the leadership of Chief Minister BC Khanduri did very well than expected but was stunned by the defeat of Khanduri from the Kotdwar Assembly segment. [more]